5.  The applicant was born in 1961 and lives in Baku.
6.  He was the Deputy Chairman of the Musavat Party. He also worked as a columnist for the Yeni Musavat newspaper.
7.  On 23 January 2013 rioting broke out in the town of Ismayilli, located to the northwest of Baku. According to media reports quoting local residents, the rioting was sparked by an incident involving V.A., the son of the Minister for Labour and Social Protection and nephew of the Head of the Ismayilli District Executive Authority (“the IDEA”). It was claimed that after being involved in a car accident, V.A. had insulted and physically assaulted passengers travelling in the other car involved in the accident, who were local residents. On hearing of the incident, hundreds (perhaps thousands) of local residents took to the streets and destroyed a number of commercial establishments and other properties in Ismayilli thought to be owned by V.A.’s family.
8.  On 24 January 2013 the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Prosecutor General’s Office issued a joint press statement, placing the blame for the rioting on E.S., a hotel manager, and his relative E.M., who had allegedly been drunk and who, it was claimed, had committed acts of hooliganism by damaging local residents’ property and inciting people to riot.
9.  On 24 January 2013 the Yeni Musavat newspaper decided to send the applicant on a mission to Ismayilli to cover the events in question. A mission order (no. 28) was issued in this respect by the Yeni Musavat for the period from 24 to 25 January 2013.
10.  On 24 January 2013 the applicant travelled to Ismayilli with three other persons. He arrived there in the afternoon. In the city centre he saw Ilgar Mammadov, the Chairman of the Republican Alternative Civic Movement (“REAL”), who was also visiting the town separately from the applicant. They stopped to greet each other and immediately went their separate ways.
11.  Approximately twenty minutes after his arrival in the town, the applicant was arrested by the police and was taken to the local police station. In the police station the applicant was ordered to leave Ismayilli and was sent to Baku in his own car accompanied by a police car.
12.  The Government did not submit any comment in respect of the applicant’s submissions.
13.  On 29 January 2013 the Prosecutor General’s Office and the Ministry of Internal Affairs issued a further joint press statement concerning the events in Ismayilli. It stated that ten people had been charged with criminal offences in connection with the events of 23 January 2013 and they had been detained pending trial. In addition, fifty-two people had been arrested in connection with their participation in “actions causing a serious breach of public order”; some of them had been convicted of “administrative offences” and sentenced to a few days’ “administrative detention” or a fine, while others had been released. The statement further noted that “lately, biased and partial information has been deliberately disseminated, distorting the true nature of these events which were the result of hooliganism”, including information about the large numbers of injured people and the disappearance of one individual. The statement refuted that information, highlighting that only four people had been admitted to the regional hospital with injuries and that no one had disappeared. It further stated, inter alia, the following:
“Following the carrying out of enquiries, it has been established that on 24 January 2013 the Deputy Chairman of the Musavat Party, Tofig Yagublu, and the co‑Chairman of the REAL Movement, Ilgar Mammadov, went to Ismayilli and made appeals to local residents with a view to engendering social and political destabilisation. These included calls to resist the police, not to obey officials and to block roads. Their illegal actions, which were calculated to inflame the situation in the country, will be fully and thoroughly investigated and receive legal assessment.”
14.  On 1 February 2013 the applicant was questioned as a witness by an investigator at the Serious Crimes Department (“the SCD”) of the Prosecutor General’s Office in connection with the Ismayilli events. After the questioning ended, he left the premises of the SCD and returned home. Despite the Court’s explicit request to the Government to submit copies of all documents relating to the proceedings in question, the Government failed to provide the Court with a copy of the record of the questioning.
15.  On 4 February 2013 the applicant was again questioned by the investigator. Moreover, according to the applicant, face-to-face confrontations were held between the applicant and two persons, R.N. and I.M., who attested that the applicant had incited protesters to throw stones at and to disobey the police. The applicant rejected the accusations against him submitting that they were false and fabricated.
16.  Despite the Court’s explicit request to the Government to submit copies of all documents relating to the proceedings in question, the Government failed to provide the Court with a copy of the record of the questioning, or of the face-to-face confrontations between the applicant and R.N. and I.M. These confrontations were not mentioned in the official charges against the applicant (see paragraph 17 below) or in any other official document made available to the Court by the parties relating to the applicant’s pre-trial detention.
17.  On the same day the applicant was charged with criminal offences under Articles 233 (organising or actively participating in actions causing a breach of public order) and 315.2 (resistance to or violence against public officials, posing a threat to their life or health) of the Criminal Code. The specific acts attributed to the applicant were described as follows in the investigator’s decision of 4 February 2013:
“Beginning at around 3 p.m. on 24 January 2013, Yagublu Tofig Rashid oglu,
having taken advantage of the fact that from around 9.30 p.m. on 23 January 2013 a group of persons in the town of Ismayilli had engaged in acts of malicious hooliganism causing a serious breach of public order, had deliberately burned, in a publicly dangerous manner, property belonging to various persons [including] the Chirag Hotel, four cars, five mopeds and scooters, and an auxiliary building located in the yard of a private residential house, and had committed acts of violence against Government officials,
having, in his false way of thinking, considered [the above events] as a ‘rebellion’,
aiming to make the above acts develop and acquire a continuous character in order to create artificial tension and to violate the social and political stability in the country,
being a resident of Baku, arrived in Ismayilli and, together with Mammadov Ilgar Eldar oglu and with the active participation of others, [committed the following:]
organised, as an active participant, acts causing a serious breach of public order, by means of openly and repeatedly inciting town residents [E.I.], [M.A.] and others, who had gathered at the square near the administrative building of the Regional Education Department located on the Nariman Narimanov Street opposite to the administrative building of [the IDEA], [to do the following:]
[i] to enter in masses into the area in front of the building of [the IDEA], which is the competent body of the executive power of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and by doing so to create difficulties for the movement of traffic and pedestrians, [ii] to disobey the lawful demands to disperse, made by Government officials wanting to stop their illegal behaviour, [iii] to resist uniformed police officers protecting the public order, by way of committing violent acts posing danger to [police officers’] life and health, using various objects, [iv] to disrupt the normal functioning of [the IDEA], State enterprises, bodies and organisations, as well as public-catering, commercial and public-service facilities, by way of refusing to leave, for a long period of time, the areas where the acts seriously breaching the public order were being committed, and [v] to stop the movement of traffic, by way of blocking the central avenue and the Nariman Narimanov Street, and
was finally able to achieve that, at around 5 p.m. of the same day in the town of Ismayilli, a group of persons consisting of [E.I.], [M.A.] and others had marched in masses from the mentioned square in the direction of the administrative building of [the IDEA] and had thrown stones at officers of the relevant bodies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs who were preventing [this march] in accordance with the requirements of the law.
By these actions, Yagublu Tofig Rashid oglu committed the criminal offences under Articles 233 and 315.2 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan.”
18.  On 4 February 2013 the prosecutor lodged a request with the Nasimi District Court asking for the application of the preventive measure of remand in custody (həbs qətimkan tədbiri) in respect of the applicant. Despite the Court’s explicit request to the Government to submit copies of all documents relating to the proceedings in question, the Government failed to provide the Court with a copy of the prosecutor’s request.
19.  On the same day a hearing was held before the Nasimi District Court in the presence of the applicant, his lawyer, an investigator and a prosecutor. It appears from the court decision that at the hearing, to explain the necessity of pre-trial detention, the investigator and the prosecutor gave reasons such as the likelihood of the applicant absconding from and obstructing the investigation, and the nature of the criminal acts attributed to him. However, they did not refer to any evidence implicating the applicant in the events in Ismayilli. The applicant and his lawyer submitted that the accusation against the applicant was groundless and was not supported by any evidence. In particular, the applicant submitted that he had visited Ismayilli as a journalist to cover the events there and he had spent only thirty minutes in total in the town. He also stated that he had had no other link to the events in question. The applicant’s lawyer stated that there were no reasons to believe that the applicant would abscond from or interfere with the investigation.
20.  By a decision of 4 February 2013, the Nasimi District Court ordered the applicant to be detained for a period of two months pending trial. The relevant part of the decision read as follows:
“The materials collected in respect of the criminal investigation give rise to sufficient grounds to believe initially, in accordance with the principle of presumption, that Yagublu Tofig Rashid oglu committed the acts provided for in Articles 233 and 315.2 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan in force.
Taking into account the character and degree of danger to the public of the criminal offences attributed to the accused, the fact that he is charged with a criminal offence qualified as less serious crime, as well as the existence of sufficient grounds to believe that, if released, he would abscond from the investigation and the court or influence other persons involved in the proceedings, the court considers that the request must be granted and the preventive measure of remand in custody must be applied in his respect.”
21.  On an unspecified date the applicant appealed against this decision. He complained that there was no evidence that he had committed any criminal offence and there had been no justification for the application of the preventive measure of detention pending trial.
22.  On 8 February 2013 the Baku Court of Appeal dismissed the applicant’s appeal, finding that the detention order was justified. In this connection the appellate court held that the first-instance court had correctly taken into account the fact that the applicant had been charged with a less serious criminal offence punishable by more than two years’ imprisonment, and the likelihood that if released he might abscond from the investigation and obstruct the normal functioning of the investigation.
23.  The applicant’s arrest and the institution of criminal proceedings against him attracted significant public and media interest both inside the country and internationally.
24.  Immediately after the applicant’s arrest, a number of domestic NGOs, as well as international NGOs such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, condemned the authorities’ actions, deeming the arrest to be “politically motivated persecution” on “trumped up” charges.
25.  On 6 February 2013, Pedro Agramunt and Joseph Debono Grech, PACE Monitoring Committee co-rapporteurs on Azerbaijan, expressed their concern at the arrest of the applicant, noting that it “gave rise to justified doubts and legitimate concerns” and urging the authorities to release the applicant and Ilgar Mammadov.
26.  On 8 February 2013, Thorbjørn Jagland, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, made the following official statement:
“I am concerned by the recent events in Azerbaijan and the heavy-handed response of the police to the protests. I am particularly disturbed by the arrest on 4 February of Tofig Yagublu and Ilgar Mammadov, in relation to recent events in Ismayilli.
Mr Mammadov is the Director of the Baku School of Political Studies, a close co‑operation partner of the Council of Europe. Today’s decision of the Baku Court of Appeal not to release these two men and its refusal to allow the Council of Europe’s representative to be present during the court proceedings is of particular gravity.
I call on the authorities of Azerbaijan to respect the fundamental principles and legally-binding standards of the European Convention of Human Rights, which they have undertaken to uphold when joining the Council of Europe.”
27.  On an unspecified date the applicant lodged a request with the Nasimi District Court asking to be put under house arrest in place of pre-trial detention. He claimed, in particular, that his detention had not been justified and that there was no reason for its continuation. In support of his request, the applicant pointed out that he had a permanent place of residence and that there was no risk of his absconding from or obstructing the investigation.
28.  On 5 March 2013 the Nasimi District Court dismissed the request and found that the preventive measure should be left “unchanged”. The relevant part of the decision read:
“Taking into account the character and degree of danger to the public of the criminal offences attributed to the accused, the court considers that it is not possible to attain the objective of the preventive measure without keeping the accused Yagublu Tofig Rashid oglu in detention and totally isolating him from society. For this reason, the request must be dismissed in accordance with Article 163 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Republic of Azerbaijan.”
29.  On 14 March 2013 the Baku Court of Appeal upheld the Nasimi District Court’s decision of 5 March 2013.
30.  On an unspecified date the prosecutor lodged a request with the court asking for an extension of the applicant’s pre-trial detention by two months, noting that more time was needed to complete the investigation. Despite the Court’s explicit request to the Government to submit copies of all documents relating to the proceedings in question, the Government failed to provide the Court with a copy of the prosecutor’s request.
31.  On 18 March 2013 the Nasimi District Court examined the prosecutor’s request for the extension of the applicant’s detention period. At the hearing, the applicant and his lawyer asked the judge to dismiss the prosecutor’s request, submitting that the applicant had not committed any criminal offence and had no link to the events in Ismayilli. The applicant’s lawyer also submitted that the applicant had always cooperated with the investigation, that there was no risk of his absconding, and that the investigation had failed to justify his continued detention. On the same date the judge extended the applicant’s detention pending trial by two months, until 6 June 2013. He substantiated the necessity of the extension of the applicant’s detention as follows:
“Taking into account that the pre-trial detention period of Tofig Yagublu ends on 4 April 2013 and that it is not possible to carry out the investigative steps indicated in the request during the remaining period of time, as well as the existence of sufficient grounds to believe that, if released, he would abscond from the investigation and thus fail to comply with requests to meet with investigators without any good reason, and disrupt the normal course of the investigation by unlawfully influencing persons involved in the proceedings and having regard to the character of the acts attributed to him, the court considers that the detention period of Tofig Yagublu must be extended for a period of two months, namely until 4 June 2013.”
32.  On an unspecified date the applicant appealed against this decision, claiming that the extension of his detention was unlawful. He noted, in particular, that there was no evidence that he had committed any criminal offence, that the investigating authorities had not taken any investigative steps, and that the first-instance court had not taken into account his family situation, place of residence or other personal circumstances when it had extended his detention.
33.  On 29 March 2013 the Baku Court of Appeal dismissed the applicant’s appeal. The appellate court made no mention of the applicant’s specific complaints.
34.  It appears from the case file that on 25 April 2013 the applicant was charged with new criminal offences under Articles 220.1 (mass disorder) and 315.2 (resistance to or violence against public officials, posing a threat to their life or health) of the Criminal Code. In essence, the charge under Article 220.1, which carried a much heavier sentence (four to twelve years’ imprisonment), replaced the previous charge under Article 233. The investigator’s decision in this respect was not made available to the Court by the Government.
35.  One of the effects of the new charge under Article 220.1 of the Criminal Code was that the applicant could no longer apply for bail, because the law did not permit individuals accused of deliberately committing “serious crimes” to be released on bail. Moreover, as a person charged with a serious crime, the applicant’s pre-trial detention could now be extended for a longer period overall.
36.  It appears from the case file that on 15 May 2013 the Nasimi District Court decided to extend the applicant’s detention period for a further three months. The Government did not provide the Court with a copy of the Nasimi District Court’s decision of 15 May 2013.
37.  On 21 May 2013 the Baku Court of Appeal upheld the Nasimi District Court’s decision of 15 May 2013. The relevant part of the appellate court’s decision read as follows:
“Relying on the above mentioned, the panel of the court considers that the first‑instance court took into account: the fact that the grounds for the detention of Yagublu Tofiq Rashid oglu are still valid; that a number of investigative steps still needed to be taken for the completion of the investigation; the complexity of the criminal case; the gravity of the criminal offence committed by the accused; and the existence of sufficient grounds to believe that, if released, he would abscond from the investigation. [The first-instance court] reached a correct, lawful and justified conclusion concerning the necessity of the extension of the detention period of Yagublu Tofig Rashid oglu.”
38.  On 13 August 2013 the Nasimi District Court extended the applicant’s detention for a period of three months, that is to say until 4 December 2013. It appears from the decision that the applicant and his lawyer stated before the court that the applicant had not played any role in the events of Ismayilli and had not committed any criminal offence. They further submitted that the applicant had always cooperated with the investigation and that there was no risk of his absconding. The relevant part of the decision of 13 August 2013 read as follows:
“Taking into account that the pre-trial detention period of Tofig Yagublu ends on 4 September 2013, that numerous persons were involved in the proceedings the size of the case file, the complexity of the criminal case, the necessity of carrying out the investigative steps indicated in the request and that sufficient time was needed to do so, and that it is not possible to carry out these steps indicated in the request during the remaining period of time, as well as the existence of sufficient grounds to believe that, if released, he would abscond from the investigation and fail to answer calls to meet with investigators without any good reason, and disrupt the normal course of the investigation by unlawfully influencing persons involved in the proceedings, and the nature of the act attributed to him, the court considers that the detention of Tofig Yagublu must be extended for a period of three months, that is to say until 4 December 2013.”
39.  On an unspecified date the applicant appealed against this decision reiterating his previous complaints.
40.  On 22 August 2013 the Baku Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal. The appellate court’s reasoning was essentially the same as in the previous extension decisions.
41.  No further extension decisions were included in the case file.
42.  The applicant’s criminal trial began in November 2013. On 17 March 2014 the Shaki Serious Crimes Court convicted the applicant and sentenced him to five years’ imprisonment.
43.  On 24 September 2014 the Shaki Court of Appeal upheld the applicant’s conviction.
44.  The applicant’s cassation appeal is pending before the Supreme Court.